Takakura Arahito Shrine

 

All decked out for matsuri, The Takakura Arahito Shrine seems to be the main shrine of Oi on the Yamaguchi coast near Hagi.

Just before reaching the banners and steps leading up to the big shrine, I syopped in at a little shrine.

It had a couple of banners flying, but only had a few small roadside-style shrines, and no buildings.

There was no sign and I could find out nothing about the kami enshrined here or any history.

Same goes for the main shrine, Takakura Arahito Shrine.

Arahito literally means "wild man". Arahitogami refers to a kami that is or was a human.

Aragami means a "wild" or "turbulent" or "rough" kami, often equated with Susano as storm deity.

Kami are generally considered to have a dual aspect, a rough, violent side, and a gentle side.

The shrine is obviously important, and it's unusual to see quite so many banners.

There is a good chance that most local people have no idea who the kami is.

I once stopped at a matsuri in a local shrine in the mountains of Hiroshima, and even the priest didn't know the name of the kami.

Still, not knowing bugs me, and I will keep my eyes open in the future for any reference to arahito...

The previous post was on the walk along the coast to here from Koshigahama.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.